LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO (Courtesy Of Vermont)
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team will hit the road and make the program's first ever trip to the Grand Canyon State as the Cardinals travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the La Quinta Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Northern Arizona Nov. 23-24.
The Cardinals will open tournament play on Friday evening as they face Vermont at 6:05 p.m. (ET). Host Northern Arizona will meet Fairleigh Dickinson in Friday's second contest. The winners of Friday's games will meet Saturday at 6:35 p.m. (ET) in the championship game while the consolation game will be held at 4:05 p.m. (ET). All games are at the Skydome on NAU's campus.
“Our team is very excited about playing two games in a tournament-style format in Flagstaff,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “It will be an opportunity to show how much we have improved from our challenging early season games and it will test our championship approach by playing for a title on the road.”
The Cardinals enter the tournament with a 1-2 record as they defeated Wright State on the road in between losses at home to nationally ranked Louisville and Big Ten foe Indiana. The Cardinals are averaging 64.7 points per game as they are connecting on 45.1 percent (64-of-142) of their shots from the field. Ball State is also hitting 40 percent (18-of-45) from three-point land and 73.8 percent (48-of-65) from the free throw line.
Four different players are averaging double figures in scoring for the Cardinals so far this season. In fact, the Cardinals are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have four players averaging double figures this season.
Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) leads the way offensively as she is averaging 12.7 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding at 6.7 boards per contest. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) is second in scoring at 12 points per game as she has connected on 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) is also averaging 12 points per game as she is hitting on 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.7 points per game as she has hit on 42.1 percent (eight-of-19) from three-point land.
Junior point guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) adds 8.7 points per game and leads the team with 4.0 assists per game.
Vermont, a member of the America East Conference, enters the tournament with a 3-1 record on the season as the Catamounts have won three straight games after a season-opening loss at Massachusetts. The Catamounts claimed their home tournament title, the TD Banknorth Classic, last weekend with wins over Brown and St. John's.
Vermont is averaging 64.2 points per game on the season and is holding opponents to just 49.8 points per game. The Catamounts have three players averaging double figures and 12 players who have score points so far this season. Guard Courtnay Pilypaitis leads the team at15.5 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, including a 16-point, 11-rebound effort in the championship game against the Red Storm. She earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors for her efforts.
Northern Arizona returns home after taking part in the Waikiki Marriott Classic hosted by Hawaii. The Lumberjacks bring in a 2-3 overall record after posting losses to UC-Davis, Washington and host Hawaii in the tournament.
Fairleigh Dickinson enters the weekend with a 1-2 record overall as the Knights picked up their first win of the season against New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Knights opened the season with losses to St. Peter's, a BSU opponent last season, and at Seton Hall.
The Cardinals has never met Vermont, Northern Arizona or Fairleigh Dickinson in program history prior to this week's tournament.
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